Commentary: Seahawks opener was a train wreck, but let’s hold off on the panic button

SEATTLE – Yeah, I saw it.

It was the kind of game train wrecks look at when they want to feel pretty.

Twelve yards of offense in the second half. Just two quarterback hits and no sacks. A 30-13 loss to a Rams squad that finished 5-12 last year with Jalen Ramsey (new team), Cooper Kupp (injured) and Bobby Wagner (back in Seattle) on the field most the season.

In golf terms, this was a gimme that turned into a four-putt. There were no “if only this happened” moments or “if they could just have that play back” scenarios, either.

The Seahawks were thoroughly shellacked by what was supposed to be one of the NFL’s more shellackable teams in their season opener Sunday. Still, I’m with Wagner on this one.

“It’s just one game,” the Seahawks linebacker said.

I don’t write that while sporting blue and green face paint and a “12” tattooed across my chest. I’ve previously expressed many of the concerns that manifested themselves on the field in Sunday’s game. Chief among them was the idea that quarterback Geno Smith’s storybook 2022 may have been an apparition, and that the vaunted Seahawks secondary wasn’t nearly as reliable as advertised.

Neither theory was disproved Sunday, and an array of other issues popped up. But it isn’t time to panic yet. Not in this league.

It’s worth noting that through three games last season the Seahawks were 1-2, with their sole win coming at home against a Broncos team that finished 5-12. They also dropped a home game to the would-be 7-10 Falcons (thought to be among the worst teams in the league at the time) before rattling off victories in four of their next five games.

Additionally, the Chiefs and Bengals – who have reached back-to-back AFC Championship Games – lost their openers, with Cincinnati’s defeat coming via a 24-3 thumping by the Browns.

The “that’s not the same” arguments here, of course, are that Kansas City barely fell to a quality Lions squad and that the Bengals were without quarterback Joe Burrow for the entire preseason. Moreover, if the Rams are as bad as many perceive them to be, none of the Seahawks’ losses last year compare to what happened Sunday from a humiliation or deflation standpoint. But to assume that loss indicates that this season will shoot them back to the top of the draft board? Nah, it’s way too early.

It would be one thing if Seattle was playing sans the personnel that vaulted it to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth last season. That team’s roster was vastly different from the one that finished 7-10 in 2021, and a deeper decline was anticipated last season. Didn’t happen, though – and the pieces are still there … with potential reinforcements coming.

Rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon, remember, was out in Week 1 because of a hamstring injury as his substitute, Tre Brown, committed a brutal hands-to-the-face penalty that turned a likely Rams field goal into a definite Rams touchdown. The hope is that three-time Pro Bowl safety Jamal Adams will be back at some point, too.

But, as I mentioned last week, Smith was a long way from dominant in his final five weeks of last season despite finishing with the top completion percentage and fifth-highest passer rating in the league. His 112 yards on 16 of 26 passing against the Rams seemed to reflect that decline. If you want to know why Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider spoke so glowingly of the top QBs in last year’s draft – and why they signed Geno to such a team-friendly contract – that game Sunday served as an explainer.

But again, it’s just one game. For comparison, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who recently signed a five-year, $255 million contract, had just 170 yards on 22 of 33 passing in his season debut Sunday. Not a whole lot better than Smith.

Seattle’s defense was hardly a world-beater, either. The Rams converted 11 of their 17 third-down attempts, as quarterback Matt Stafford diced the “D” up for 334 yards on 38 pass attempts. Rough. But remember, through the early part of last season, the Seahawks had the worst defense in the NFL bar none. By the second half, they had regrouped into something respectable.

Probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that sportsbooks now have the Seahawks over/under win total at 7.5, which would keep them out of the playoffs. The defeat they suffered Sunday will do that.

It’s a fair reaction, as is all the criticism they are receiving. It’s a long season – and though it could feel like a really long season – there is still plenty of reason for hope.

But receivers/offensive mainstays Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf? Running back/last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up Kenneth Walker III? Pro Bowler cornerback Riq Woolen and Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs? They’re all in uniform and not likely past their prime.

The weapons haven’t disappeared for the Seahawks.